Evolutionary Patterns in Chemical Composition and Biomechanics of Articulated Coralline Algae

Abstract

Synopsis Seaweeds inhabiting wave-battered coastlines are generally flexible, bending with the waves to adopt more streamlined shapes and reduce drag. Coralline algae, however, are firmly calcified, existing largely as crusts that avoid drag altogether or as upright branched forms with uncalcified joints (genicula) that confer flexibility to otherwise rigid thalli. Upright corallines have evolved from crustose ancestors independently multiple times, and the repeated evolution of genicula has contributed to the ecological success of articulated corallines worldwide. Structure and development of genicula are significantly different across evolutionary lineages, and yet biomechanical performance is broadly similar. Because chemical composition plays a central role in both calcification and biomechanics, we explored evolutionary trends in cell wall chemistry across crustose and articulated taxa. We compared the carbohydrate content of genicula across convergently evolved articulated species, as well as the carbohydrate content of calcified tissues from articulated and crustose species, to search for phylogenetic trends in cell wall chemistry during the repeated evolution of articulated taxa. We also analyzed the carbohydrate content of one crustose coralline species that evolved from articulated ancestors, allowing us to examine trends in chemistry during this evolutionary reversal and loss of genicula. We found several key differences in carbohydrate content between calcified and uncalcified coralline tissues, though the significance of these differences in relation to the calcification process requires more investigation. Comparisons across a range of articulated and crustose species indicated that carbohydrate chemistry of calcified tissues was generally similar, regardless of morphology or phylogeny; conversely, chemical composition of genicular tissues was different across articulated lineages, suggesting that significantly different biochemical trajectories have led to remarkably similar biomechanical innovations.